A tanker loaded with 62,000 gallons of diesel has sunk off southeastern China following a collision with another ship.

Authorities in central China have sentenced 23 people to prison terms of up to 13 years for a Christmas fire in a disco that killed 309 people, a court official said today.

A typhoon that ripped through southern China damaging thousands of homes and demolished sugarcane and banana plantations has caused more than $446m of damage.